Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in which year the NHS created a Hospital Episode Statistic Code for rectopexy mesh.

The Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are a curated data product containing details about admissions, outpatient appointments and historical accident and emergency attendances at National Health Service hospitals in England. This includes data on rectopexy procedures.

Since 1 April 2020, rectopexy mesh procedures can be identified in the HES data product through a combination of codes. There are two codes that relate to rectopexy procedures, but will not specifically be limited to rectopexy using mesh:

• H35.2 Posterior fixation of rectum using prosthetic material – introduced pre-2006
• H35.5 Anterior fixation of rectum using prosthetic material – implemented for use 1 April 2020

There are four codes that specifically classify where mesh has been used in a procedure and should be used in addition to the above codes, which have been mandates since 1 April 2020. The combination of these two codes allows for the identification of where a rectopexy procedure has used mesh:

• Y28.1 Insertion of synthetic mesh into organ not otherwise classifiable (NOC)
• Y28.2 Insertion of biological mesh into organ NOC
• Y28.3 Insertion of composite mesh into organ NOC
• Y28.4 Insertion of mesh into organ NOC